Recent demolition drives in the aftermath of the Prophet remarks row may challenge certain basic tenets of law, including the right of a person to be heard first, and that the state can deprive a person of his or her property only after following due procedure and under the authority of a valid law as mandated under Article 300A of the Constitution.
“The right to property under Article 300A is a human right,” former Supreme Court judge Justice V. Gopala Gowda told The Hindu on Wednesday.
Justice Gowda is one of the 12 signatories of a letter urging the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of the demolitions in Uttar Pradesh. The letter conveyed that razing down buildings without giving affected persons prior notice or hearing them first was a violation of the rule of law. Rule of law is a basic feature of the Constitution.
